Steel Frames with Discretely Connected Precast Concrete Infill Panels

This paper presents an overview of research undertaken at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands on hybrid lateral load resisting structures consisting of steel frames with discretely connected precast concrete infill panels. These are classified as semi-integral infilled frames.

Discretely connected precast concrete panels contribute substantially to building stiffness and strength. Several types of discrete steel-concrete connections have been designed and tested experimentally to obtain their characteristics. Subsequently, these connections were tested in full- scale experiments on one-storey, one-bay, hybrid infilled frame structures. Finite element simulations were performed for comparison showing that simulation of the behaviour of the hybrid lateral load resisting structure is possible. The validated finite models were used for parametric studies with the goal of developing analytical models as a basis for design rules.